WORLD RANKINGS: Boks rise, Scotland fall

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Wales move above Scotland in the World Rugby Rankings following Saturday's result in the Six Nations.

Wales have improved their World Rugby Ranking by one place and moved up to sixth, following their 34-7 bonus-point win over Scotland in the opening game of this Six Nations in Cardiff on Saturday.

The bonus-point victory – their first since the competition adopted the bonus points system last year – was worth 1.35 rating points, improving Wales' overall points tally to 83.43, just under four tenths less than South Africa, who take Scotland's place in fifth.

Scotland drop to seventh after the defeat.

Johnny Sexton's last-gasp drop-goal in Paris not only kept Ireland's Grand Slam dream alive but also saw them pick up just under half a rating point to boost their tally to 86.86.

The gap between themselves in third and second-placed England is now down to a fraction over four points. England did not gain anything from a rankings perspective for their clinical 46-15 win over Italy in Rome, due to the 19.62-point differential between the sides before kick-off.

In turn, France's agonising 13-15 home loss to Ireland has seen them fall to their lowest-ever position of 10th since the rankings were introduced in October 2003. Fiji replace them in ninth to equal their highest-ever ranking.